Condo, townhome developers and brokers seek retailers

WHISTLER — There’s been a frenzied speed-dating scene going on at Whistler’s swankiest restaurants and hotel lobbies this week.

It’s the annual International Council of Shopping Centres conference, an event name that doesn’t quite capture the way brokers, developers and retailers madly try to meet each other with the shared goal of attracting customers to spend time and money in malls.

One attendee in the crowd joked that everyone here hopes to connect with Starbucks Coffee Company, or the like, because once a big name signs on, other retailers and then the masses are sure to follow.

This year, however, it seems to be as much about leasing and marketing retail space to support growing populations at new multi-family housing developments. Condo and townhome projects, some of them constructing entirely new town centres, are seeking a good mix of supermarkets and drug stores, but also yoga studios, cafes and restaurants.

It all gives pause for thought as people in the city collect lists of small retailers that were beloved but have become bygone; while, at the same time, new condo and townhomes developments are working hard to find ground-floor retailers who can bring the necessities and joys of everyday living to their projects.

At the Colliers International booth, retail space is being touted for Tsawwassen Commons. It will not be far from Tsawwassen Mills, which already added 1.2 million square feet of retail space in late 2016. But agents say the Commons will be anchored by Walmart, Rona and Canadian Tire, retailers that meet “everyday shopping needs” because about 3,000 fresh residential units were recently approved for the area.

Local developer Wesgroup says its River District development off Marine Drive by the Fraser River will have over 10,400 homes and a population of 18,000 residents. It’s filled some of its town centres with retail outlets such as a Save-On-Foods, a TD Canada Trust, a wine store, a sushi restaurant (and yes, a Starbucks), but has several spaces for others to consider.

At Grosvenor Americas’ luxury development of 98 condos, or town homes, in West Vancouver’s Ambleside, “beachfront retail opportunity” is being advertised with commitments already having been made by Earls, upscale supermarket Meinhardt Fine Foods and also local eateries that have been popular elsewhere in the city such as Ancora and Heirloom Vegetarian restaurants.

The conference heard from lawyers who said they’re seeing more challenges emerge when it comes to filling ground-level retail spaces that are attached to condo developments.

“Every deal is different and it’s in the details,” said Christina Kobi, a Toronto-based partner at Minden Gross LLP.

A few developers chimed in during a roundtable conversation to talk about the snafus some have had in overseeing the mix of street-level retail in upcoming condo buildings. Potential clients, they say, are reluctant, with some worrying about “who my neighbour will be?”

Kobi talked about the challenge in structuring leasing deals to maintain exclusive conditions for retailers in a space that is much cozier than a traditional mall. “No one wants to open a coffee shop and then realize that next door, there’s going to be a Tim Horton’s, a Second Cup and a Timothy’s.”

Then, there’s also the writing-in of restrictions for retailers in a mixed-use development, or multi-family project, that might not exist in leasing agreements for a regular shopping mall, such as certain opening hours or tighter noise restrictions, said Kobi.

What’s emerging now, she added, is some developers are moving toward keeping ground-floor retail spaces as freehold properties, selling them outright to retailers rather than leasing them.

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